Isaac wixom lamb



(No Model.)

I. W. LAMB. MITTBN OR LIKE FABRIC.

Patented Mar. 2

a g mz ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAO W'IXOM LAMB, OF PERRY, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAMB GLOVE AND MITTEN COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MITTEN OR LI'KE FABRIC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 578,153, dated March 2, 1897.

Application filed April 27, 1896. Serial No. 589,251. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, IsAAo WIxoM LAMB, of Perry, in the county of Shiawassee and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mittens or Like Fabrics, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to knit fabrics such as are produced on an ordinary Lamb straightknitting machine for knitting ribbed work.

The object of the invention is to provide certain new and useful improvements in the knitting of mittens and similar articles whereby the blanks can be cheaply and readily produced and united to form the mittenhand and to receive the thumb.

The invention consists principally of two ribbed fabrics, of which the selvage-yarns of one fabric are extended between the front and back loops of the selvage of the other fabric to form the two fabrics into one piece.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is aface view of the blank for the mitten-hand. Fig. 2 is a face view of the fin-- ished article. Fig. 3 is a face view of the thumb-blank, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged edge View of the fabric with the front loops and rear loops spread transversely and in opposite directions.

In order to form the mitten-hand blank shown in Fig. 1, I provide two fabrics A A, having their selvages interlooped with each other at adjacent edges at B. The fabric A is provided at its outside edge with a shoulder 0 for the thumb D of the mitten. The tips A and A of the two fabrics are rounded off, as plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the interlooping of the adjacent edges of the two fabrics is accomplished by extending the selvage-yarns A of the fabric A between the front loops A and the back loops A of the selVage-yarns of the other fabric A, as plainly indicated in Fig. 4;.

Now in order to produce the mitten-hand I employ an ordinary straight-knitting machine for knitting ribbed work, the machine being provided with needle-beds about two inches wider than the ordinary needle-beds and two sets of needles of different lengths. The carriage of the machine is provided with two sets of ordinary cams, such as are used in an ordinary ribbed machine of the Lamb type, and one set of the cams is set in position to actuate the short needles and the other serves to operate the other set of longer needles. One set of cams is placed about three inches in advance of the other set, and a separate yarn is fed to each set by a separate yarn-guide suitably located. One half of each needle-bed is filled with long needles and the other half of the needle-bed is filled with short needles, the grooves of both sets being the same.

It will be seen that if no provision were made for joining the fabrics there would simply be two fabrics knitted side by side, but as the sliding carriage moves to the right and about reaches the right-hand end of its stroke then one needle of the right-hand set is moved up about one-half an inch, so that the yarn of the left yarn-guide is laid across the left needle of the right set at the time the sliding frame moves to the left. As the carriage continues to move to the left the yarn of the right yarn-guide will also be laid into the hook of the last or left needle of the right set, so that both yarns will be knitted together on the one needle, which I call by preference the seaming-needle. Now it will be seen that by this arrangement one loop of the fabric A is knitted into the outside loop of the other fabric A to join the two fabrics, as indicated in Fig. 4.

It is understood that the interlooping does not occur until the other yarn-guide lays the other yarn onto the seaming-needle, and it is accomplished by the movement of the needle upward until both the loops already in the hook are passed below the latch of the needle and the new portion of yarn is drawn through both of the loops. When the fabrics are united in the manner described, then the fabric A can be readily raveled without in any way disturbing the other fabric A; but this latter fabric cannot be raveled without first raveling the course of the fabric A.

In order to form the tips A and A I proceed as follows: hen the work has progressed to the point where the tip is to be narrowed, all that is necessary is to narrow or draw up one side of each tip of the blank at the time the carriage is at one end of the stroke. Then the crank is turned to the other end and the other side of each tip is narrowed, so that the work of narrowing progresses on both tips of the two fabrics at the same time, it being understood, however, that the narrowing is done alternately or successivelyon each of the tips. The mitten-blank thus produced consists of a plain portion with parallel sides for the hand and wrist and with two tips having tapering or fashioned sides, as plainly shown in Fig. 1. The thumb is knitted flat, in the usual manner, and then sewed on the hand portion of the mitten, it being understood that the sides of the mitten are sewed together.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A mitten or like fabric, comprising two ribbed fabrics, of which the selvage-yarn of one fabric is extended between the front and back loops of the selvage of the other fabric, to form the two fabrics into one piece, sub stantially as shown and described.

2. A blank for mittens and other articles, made from two knit fabrics each formed by its own thread, each fabric having front and back loops, and the yarn connecting the front and back loops at theinner end of each course of one fabric being carried about the corresponding portion of yarn at the adjacent end of the course of the other fabric, substantially as described.

8. A blank foramitten-hand, consisting of a plain fabric with parallel sides for thehand or wrist, and with tips having tapering sides, the blank being made from two knit fabrics connected at approximately the center of the blank, each fabric being formed by its own thread and having front and back loops, and the yarn connecting the front and back loops at the inner end of each course of one fabric being carried about the corresponding portion of yarn at the adjacent end of the course of the other fabric, substantially as described.

4:. A mitten consisting of two knit halves sewed together at one of their edges and each formed by a separate thread, said threads forming front and back loops, the yarn connecting the front and back loops at the opposite edge of each course of one half being.

carried about the corresponding portion of yarn at the adjacent edge of the course of the other half, and a thumb sewed to said halves at their coi'inecting-seam, substantially as described.

ISAAC VIXOM LAMB.

. Witnesses:

A. L. DoUD, L. C. WATKINs. 

